For the most part, the tower was quiet. The only sound that came to Robin's ears was the air conditioner running somewhere in the building and the gentle woosh of air come from the vents. Blue Beetle and Cyborg had made their way down to the training room after their long week of searching, but Robin wanted time to think.
He was perfectly aware that the team had been under a lot of stress the last few months. The defeat of Slade felt so long ago, but new threats continued to emerge with horrible consistency. The Kaz Kal was one such attack. His team was feeling the strain, especially one member in particular.
"You good, bro?"
Robin looked up from the computer screen in his lap as Beast Boy plopped his green self into the couch space beside him.
"You look like someone stole your vegan hamburger."
"Only you like Vegan stuff, Beast Boy."
The young man shrugged his shoulders and used the remote to turn on the TV. Robin gritted his teeth as the sound of one of Beast Boy's shows began to blare from the LCD screen.
"Have you seen Raven?" Beast Boy asked suddenly without looking at him.
"Computer systems alerted that she returned to the building twenty minutes ago," Robin said swiping the handheld and verifying the timestamp.
"That's not what I mean, Dick. Have you seen her? She looks sullen...well...more sullen than she normally is."
"Yeah."
Only the sound of the cop show permeated the silence between the two. One thing Bruce Wayne had taught him in the years of fighting crime together was human nature and watch your team. Though Bruce had taken a more paranoid approach of finding ways to defeat his allies in case they went evil, Robin wanted to believe in the good nature of people. That included a young woman who was half demon. Though recently, Raven had shown more animosity towards the team and wanting to pull herself away from them. He tried to tell himself that it was just the stress but he was anxious about her.
"Have you talked with her? You two seem to be getting along better."
"I've tried. All I've gotten is 'no' and 'leave me alone.' I have no idea what she's thinking. I mean, does anyone know what girls think?"
"It is not that complicated, Friend Beast Boy."
The two superheroes turned to see Starfire glide in, her pink hair rustling in the powerful blast of the air conditioning unit. Her green eyes sparkled as she settled on the arm of the couch by Robin.
"Raven is going through the bliknorak. The seeking of meaning" Starfire said merely.
"Meaning? She's a superhero, and she's got great friends like us. Why would she need more meaning than that."
Starfire shook her head. "You don't know if that is all the meaning she needs. There are a lot of choices she could make to find her meaning. Maybe going on her own path."
"Leaving the Teen Titans?" Beast Boy said shocked.
"Is she so chooses, Raven should leave the Teen Titans."
"What would we do without her?" Robin asked trying to comprehend the possibility.
"We will get along as we always do. Raven is our friend but if that's what has to happen, then so be it."
Robin was not sure about that. Raven was too good of a friend to leave like that. He had to find time to talk to her.
"Let's table this discussion." Beast Boy said with a smirk. "My favorite episode is coming on."
Raven spent most of the evening meandering through the hallways that were silent and dismal much like her soul. The sorceress was sure that Jinx would have fought her or worse, inform the entire Titans that she had the artifact. Instead, Raven could have sworn there was a tear in the witch's eye and a sad crestfallen look.
The entire journey back to the Titan's tower had been fraught with emotions. On the one hand, she had Blue Beetle, the Justice League, and her friends sure that the artifact was pure evil and would destroy the known world while on the other, she had met the entity that owned the ring and gave her no indication that it was malevolent. It hadn't even pressed her to get out or unleashed into her world.
Then the was Jinx who had risked a severe beating and capture to ask her enemy for a chance to hold the ring. Her body felt as it was being torn in so many directions and she was going to split apart.
'This is ridiculous. I should just give Blue Beetle the artifact.'
Immediately that felt like the wrong thing to do. The UN Meta-human act had made harboring class 1 artifacts punishable by imprisonment and their powers restrained. She couldn't go to Concord Federal Penitentiary or Blackgate Penitentiary. There were enough horror stories about them and what places like that did to powerless superheroes.
'I wouldn't be surprised these places are why we have the Joker.'
Raven slowed as she closed onto their living room. She could hear voices talking. Raven easily picked up the sounds of Starfire and Robin though it took her a second to recognize Beast Boy. He always spoke softly.
"…Raven should leave the Teen Titans."
Raven froze in the shadows, her heart trying to break out of her rib cage. The ringing in her ears got loud as she tried to hear what was being said.
"What would we do without her?"
'Robin is on my side. He's got to be. I don't want to leave.' But hadn't she been telling herself she had to leave the last few weeks? It was different when your team was planning to abandon you and kick you to the curb.
"We will get along as we always do. Raven is our friend but if that's what has to happen, then so be it."
"Let's table this discussion. My favorite episode is coming on."
Sharp and dismissive. The entire conversation had ended, and they were now watching their show together. Anger weld up inside of her, a fury she had not felt in a long time. Back of her mind, she could feel the demonic portion trying to force itself up and out. Raven turned away and caught her reflect. Her pupils had vanished, and the entire eye was replaced with a fiery red.
'Get rid of me. Do they think they can just toss me out like trash?'
Raven stormed towards her room and once inside through herself on to her bed, tears of anger and animosity running down her cheeks. Without thinking, she threw open her closet and reached for the ring.
Immediately, she found herself in the blackness, the meeting place of Jason...Sovereign. Her power roiled around her, but the calm presence soon appeared. She didn't feel the movement, but Raven could have sworn it happened. Like a hand swatting away a fly, she felt the demon inside her be shoved down and her self-control return.
"I...I'm sorry, Jason. I didn't mean to storm in her angry."
"It's alright, Rachel. You have a lot to deal with when it comes to that portion of your self."
His voice was so kind and understanding, and her heart seemed to want to move in his direction. He would not betray her like the team just did. But she needed to make sure she wasn't being used either.
"I found Jinx. She said you were calling to her too. Is she the one you want and I just stumbled on you?"
"Jinx?" He responded puzzled, and she felt the shimmer of power emanate from him. "Ah, the improbable one with the low voice. Yes, she had heard the Archon Ring, but you had found it first. I did not know who either of you was until you picked up the ring and I got a chance to see you. The improbable one has been searching for me her entire life; she has even tried to use her magic to pierce the reality-nexus walls with little success. She does not comprehend what she is searching for."
"She asked to speak to you."
"Do you want me to?"
"Do I have a choice?"
Jason chuckled, and immediately Raven wanted to scream at him about being condescending, but the tone quickly made it subside.
"I am not the ring, Rachel. I am trapped inside the walls that make up the Reality Nexus. Imprisoned by the Iris and wanting to find a way to rejoin the world. The ring is an amplifier for who wears it. Jinx is a stranger to me; you are not. I'd be happy to talk to her if you want but I'm not here to play favorites. The ring is yours until you willingly give it up."
Raven nodded. The first shock was she was considering talking to Jinx, a member of the HIVE, and the sworn enemy of the Titans.
'It's not like they want me to be a member anyhow.'
"I'll think about it."
"Good but I should warn you, I want to talk to you about what I want to do. The choice of the ring is fast approaching as Iris is narrowing down where I am. Please speak to me soon."
With that, the darkness vanished, and Raven found herself laying on the bed with the ring in one hand. One thing was sure; she could sense the crucible getting closer.
Only a few of the superheroes were in the Hall of Justice when the crackling of dark and white light began to emanate from the three spires that bent in to meet in the middle. They had been long hidden underneath the JLA's symbol only to be used in dire times. This was one of those times.
Superman stood a reasonable distance away as the power and energy from the energy fissure snapped and swung about trying to stabilize. Hal Jordan stood by him, ring ready but Superman knew there was no need for it yet.
"I seriously can't believe this device has been here and we're accessing another reality. I mean, I know of the multiverses but something that's entirely outside our multiverse?"
"It's a secret that nobody should know," Batman responded darkly in the corner of the room, cape wrapped around him. "But the time has come to reach out to our counterparts."
Before Hal could ask, there was a flash, and the portal stabilized as a white wall of light. Two forms stepped through before it snapped again and disappeared. The first was an unassuming man in his mid-forties with a suit and tie. He had a bunch of folders under his arm and looked more like a bureaucrat than a member of Iris.
The other was a striking woman with a black jumpsuit and flaming red hair. She walked close but not to close to the man she was escorting. Superman approached and extended his hand.
"Welcome to the Hall of Justice, Mister?"
"Agent Phil Coulson. This is Agent Natasha Romanova," he said with an easy smile. "It's an honor to meet you, Superman. When Director Fury indoctrinated me in the Iris Initiative, I was fascinated with your world. It is so much like mine but with unique deviance in development."
"I too, Agent Coulson," Superman said escorting them to the briefing room. "But I thought I would be working with the Colonel. He was the one that formed the Iris Initiative after Millennium attempted to destroy the reality Nexus."
"Sadly," Coulson said with a shake of his hand. "That reality has drifted too far away now for our worlds to access. We would have to waste too much time hopping between realities to find a connection to his. We are on our own for this one. Sovereign is awaking, and if we don't find that Archon ring, we're looking at the end destruction on an unimaginable scale."